


Down and Out

by orphan_account



Category: Dan Avidan - Fandom, Game Grumps
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-02 20:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5261603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan just liked to pretend that whole mess never happened. He left the old crew, and they didn't hold it against him. Everyone has to grow up at some point, right? And when it comes to that point, it's easier just to forget and pretend it never happened. But it's hard to forget when it never really went away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sort of a post-angsty-teen-drama AU

"Hey, it's been a while," Dan said in his normal cheery tone. She recognized his voice immediately and turned to address him.

"Dan? What's a bigshot like you doing shopping at the normal grocery store with all us little people?" Her joke was delivered in the same dry tone as everything else she said. Somehow, this made her half-hearted quips funnier than they would be otherwise. 

"Just came to pick up some normal people food, I guess." He glanced at the basket she was holding. "Unlike some of us." 

"Just some supplies," She stated with the tiniest grin. A sad grin. 

"That's not promising." Though Dan said it in a joking manner, there was no hiding his concern. "Foggy," He spoke the woman's nickname carefully. "Are you doing okay?"

"Everything's good, man. Just going through a little rough patch." This was the end of that conversation. Dan knew that if she didn't want to talk about it, prying answers from her would be no easy task. It never ended well, either. The two finished their shopping together and headed to checkout where Dan watched the cashier ring up Foggy's three bottles of vodka and a jar of peanut butter. Obviously she was not okay. It was only when the cashier let her go without seeing an I.D. that Dan really knew something was up. She always got carded. After paying for his own groceries, Dan rushed outside to find Foggy.

"Hey, we should hang or something," He suggested when He caught up to her. "I haven't seen you in like, forever. Don't think I'm gonna let you disappear again without bugging you for at least an afternoon." Dan giggled and Foggy smiled. She looked tired. Dan just noticed exactly how tired she looked. Not just in a sleep deprived way either. She looked completely drained. "____," This time using her real name. "You look dead on your feet"

"It's just been hard to get a good night's sleep lately," She half-lied. "I'm fine, Danny." 

"You shouldn't be driving like this. I know you. You could fall asleep behind the wheel at any moment." Foggy had been known for a lot of things. Falling asleep at inopportune times just happened to be one of those things. And it didn't even take a sleepless night to trigger her frequent dozing. Needless to say, there were some objections when she decided to start driving on her own.

"Hey, have some faith in me, guy. It's been how long, and I still haven't died without you babysitting me. I'm not who I used to be." This hurt both of them. It was hard to say who it hurt more. As if on queue, Foggy yawned.

"I don't care, Foggy." Boy, was that a lie. "I don't wanna wake up tomorrow and see them broadcast your mangled body on the news." This was unusually cold compared to Danny's usual style, but it won an eye roll and a set of car keys.

Both of them loaded into Foggy's beat up old van. Almost as soon as she sat down, Foggy dozed off. Dan got in on the driver's side and spent a good three minutes trying to adjust the seat to fit his height. As He moved the seat back, there was a clatter of glass bottles. He leaned over to inspect the cause, already pretty sure of what He was going to find. Empty liquor bottles littered the back of the van. There was a grimy mattress and a garbage bag full of clothes. Dan sighed and turned to his old friend, fast asleep in the passenger's seat. He now had time to notice the dismal state she was in. He prayed that the bruises on her arms weren't what he thought they were.

"What have you gotten yourself into since I left," He murmured under his breath. He didn't start the van for a while, not wanting to wake her up. "What have they gotten you into?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's back!

It didn’t take Dan long to realize he had no idea where he was supposed to be going. Driving around for a while would have been nice if they had been in the country rather than the city. Besides, it wasn’t his car. He would happily pay for a tank of gas, but who knew what other problems the old lemon had. Foggy had been driving this car for almost as long as Dan knew her, and who knew how many owners it had had before her. It felt like home in a way. By the looks of it, it really was home for the girl napping in the seat next to Dan.

Foggy didn’t exactly look “peaceful” with her head hung over the seat belt. Occasionally, her hand or nose would twitch like a cat having a nightmare. She wasn’t usually a heavy sleeper, but this was an exception. Even when the breaks of the van made a loud screech as the vehicle came to a stop in the driveway of Dan’s house, it took at least a minute for her to fully wake up, or at least wake up enough to unbuckle her seat belt.

“Hey, Danny boy. Thanks for watching the van while I got some shuteye.” Foggy mumbled something that Danny concluded to be nonsense. He was already around to her side of the car in the time it took her to gather herself and step out of the car. As she stretched with a soft moan she took a look at the new surrounding and then back to Dan. “This your new place,” She asked in a tone that suggested unease. 

“Yep, we’re going to go inside and you’re going to tell me about what you’ve been up to over some real food.” This wasn’t so much an invitation as it was an accusation of sorts. Danny masked it well with his normal cheery tone, but Foggy knew better. Once inside, She just followed Dan like a puppy.

“It’s, uh, really nice here.” Foggy was trying to break the awkward silence that had only been filled by the sound of kitchen cupboards being opened and closed as Danny put away his groceries. Had he left his car back at the store?

“Thanks. So, where are you staying these days?” Diving right in with the questioning.

“You know, same old place. Old crew’s mostly gone, though.” Danny was startled at her use of the word “gone”. “Most of them got nicer places. Hey, I guess everyone’s following in your footsteps, huh.” Foggy was trying to be happy for everyone, but it wasn’t easy when she was left behind in the dust. Still, Dan was a bit relieved the rest of them were moving on. Even if Foggy hadn’t quite made it yet.

“So, you’re paying rent and everything on your own now?” Foggy shot Dan a warning glance. Being talked down to was one of the few things that really set her off, and Danny had the unfortunate habit of unintentionally talking down to her a lot. He never meant it in a demeaning way, but the way he tried to look after her came off as such at times. “You know why I’m asking, ____.” Real name. The edge in his voice was only half of the impact in this case.

“Hey, I may not have all lose ends tied up like you, ‘Mister Perfect’. But I’ve done a little growing up, too.” Foggy, who had been lazily leaning against a counter, stood up straight and suddenly adopted a much more aggressive attitude. “I’m doing just fine without you to babysit me. And despite what you may think, the others actually care about me. They wouldn’t just leave me to rot because I was holding them back.” 

“Why do you always do this, ____,” Dan half-shouted. The girl who had been ready to fight suddenly seemed to shrink at his unexpected anger. “See, it’s just like every other time I try to help. You purposely try to rile me up and then act like a kicked puppy when I actually get upset. Let me ask you this. If you’re doing so great on your own, why are you sleeping in your car?” Foggy was backing up like she was ready to run. “Think I didn’t notice? I’m not stupid, ____. And what would have happened if I wasn’t there to ‘babysit’ you today? I’ll tell you. They would call me in to the police department and I’d hold my breath as they pulled back the white sheet for me to identify your mangled body. Because you were out like a light as soon as that car started moving, and who knows what poison is running through your blood this week.” Angry shouting was slowly devolving into tears. 

“I’m getting better now,” Foggy whimpered, looking away from the rage she very well knew she caused. 

“Really? Then what’s this?” Without really thinking, Dan grabbed her arm and pushed up her sleeve. This got an immediate panic response out of Foggy, causing her to let out a frantic cry and fall back as she tried to break free. Danny quickly realized he had gone too far and let go. Foggy hit the floor and looked up at the man, who was nearly in tears, with a look of fear. She wasn’t afraid of him, but she was afraid of what was happening.

“Foggy, I- I didn’t mean to- I shouldn’t have-” Danny’s anger subsided and he felt nothing but terrible. Not so much for calling his friend out, because someone had to. It was the sheer look of panic on her face that made him feel sick to his stomach. The tall man kneeled down to try and comfort his friend. She moved further away. “God, Foggy. I should have known better.” He shouldn’t have grabbed her. God, he should have remembered.

“Just…” Her voice shook and seemed to have risen an octave. “Give me a second.” Danny reluctantly stood up and put the rest of the groceries away as Foggy sat in one place, staring into nothing, reassuring herself with gentle mumblings and hugging her knees so tightly to her chest it looked like she was physically trying to hold herself together.

“You good now?” Dan tried his best to speak softly without talking to her like a child. He felt insanely guilty, but this discussion wasn’t over. If it ended then and there, things would just go back to shit. 

“I’m fine,” Foggy answered flatly. Dan sat down next to her on the floor. She still stared at the same spot on the floor with dead eyes.  
“Good,” Said Dan. “Now tell me where those bruises on your arm came from.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to drive home the fact that I can't write anything happy like ever


	3. Chapter 3

A week later, that old clunky van was still parked in the driveway. There was a lot of arguing, but it all seemed hollow. Anger for the sake of being angry. Danny hated it, but he wasn’t completely innocent. Actually, the two were on equal grounds as far as the number of arguments either had started. The worst part was, it was always over the little things. Like every argument and every angry crying fit was to distract from the big picture. Eventually, though, the conversation happened.

“What was I supposed to do? Was I just supposed to provide for all of you? Give you an allowance every week and send you off to buy it on drugs?” Dan was trying not to get worked up, but that was proving to be more difficult the longer this conversation went on.

“You could've at least come back to check on me every now and then. It was months before I even heard from you. Even then, it was through Arin.” Foggy looked up from where she sat huddled on the couch, more hurt than angry. It was hard to tell if she really was or if it was just her sad puppy act. Whatever it was, it moved Dan’s gentle heart.

“You know I couldn’t have known.” He stepped a little closer and softened his voice. “If I did, I would have come back right away.”

“I know you would have.” Tears rested just on the edge of rolling down Foggy’s cheeks. “I just wish you had.” There was no more anger. Foggy’s shoulders shook and a small gasp escaped her preceding silent sobs.

“Hey hey hey. V’s gone now. There’s nothing he can do to hurt you anymore.” Danny awkwardly wrapped an arm around the crying girl’s shoulders. They never did fit well together. There were too many angles to work around.

“I still have anxiety attacks when I’m alone.” This was said like a confession, but Dan had already noticed how frequently he found Foggy up in the middle of the night, just wondering around with red and puffy eyes. He hadn’t known exactly why, but he could put two and two together.

“God, if I saw his face around here again…” Dan was shaking one fist in the air. This got a little laugh out of Foggy.

“You can’t fight, Dan. Even if you have been working out.” Foggy reached up and squeezed the bicep of the arm Dan had been holding up. Suddenly things got a lot less heavy.

“Ah, so you’ve noticed. I was worried that five minutes I spent in the gym had gone to waste.” There was more gentle laughter as Dan flexed and Foggy wiped her tears away with her sleeve.

“That looks like a little more than five minute, man.” Foggy settled just a bit more into him. As usual, they didn’t quite fit, but no one was complaining. “On second thought, maybe you are built to fight.”

“Or maybe I’m built for something else.” This was a joke, but both felt their cheeks blushing like they were nervous high school kids again. It was all over when Foggy turned to face Dan completely, eyes still just a little red. When there was no anger or forced apathy set up as a barrier, no drugs, just a little bit of playful sarcasm and calmness, Dan remembered why he used to be so madly in love with her when they were young. And neither of them had really grown up, just added layers on over who they used to be.

“Maybe we can pretend to be young again.” Foggy sounded confident, but she was immediately worried that she had gone too far.

“We still are young, ____,” Dan said in what was almost a whisper before locking lips with the girl who he just might have accidentally fallen in love with again. It was different from when they were young, slower and more gentle. There was no rush, not like when you’re in your twenties and still not sure whether you’re still a kid or not. It showed in the way Dan carefully leaned Foggy back so he would be over her. The hand placement and the deliberate circling of fingers over bare skin. The skillful removal of outerwear and the breathy words spoken between all of it. Something happened, though, when Dan pulled back and saw Foggy looking at him with entirely too much thought.

“What are we doing, Dan?” Her tone of voice sent shivers down Danny’s spine, but not in a good way. “After this terrible past few days, suddenly I feel like a love-struck teenager again.” She let out a little laugh. “I’ve been awful to you.” Maybe they weren’t in the most optimal position to suddenly be having a serious conversation, but neither tried to move away.

“Hey, I left you behind and indirectly caused some of the worst years of your life.” Despite what he was saying, Dan still held a smile. “Maybe I deserved it.”

“Maybe we both need this.” Foggy put her hand over Danny’s lower back and pulled him closer. “What do you say? Make-up sex?” His answer was barely heard through airy, excited laughter.

Three things were inevitable for the two. Making up, rekindled passion and the rocky road ahead. Maybe they could make it work, though. Neither one had lived a fairy tale life, but who didn’t try for a happy ending?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on tumblr if you have anything you want to ask, or even if you just wanna chat.

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if I'll continue this or not. If anyone's really invested in it, I'll write a few more chapters.


End file.
